The Empty House
by elsiecarson
Summary: Rocky My World fanfic. After the band leaves what happens with Lord and Lady Foxley? Do they finally take the opportunity to talk openly to each other?
1. Leaving on a Jet Plane

Lady Diana Foxley leans back against her husband, Lord Charles Foxley, as they watch their American guests drive out of sight."Well that was an eventful summer. What are we going to do now?" She asks as they continue to stand on the front drive.

"I don't know." Lord Charles says quietly. "I feel like I could sleep for a month, though."

"I miss them already," Diana says as they begin to walk towards the house. "They livened up the house so much."

"They certainly did. They sometimes livened the house up a little too much." Charles says as he holds the door open for his wife. His house looks like a disaster zone and smells like stale booze and pot smoke which are two smells he never thought he'd encounter.

"Oh, Charles, you're so old fashioned. It was lovely to have them here. It wouldn't have been any different if we'd had children of our own." Diana says as she bustles around the kitchen and makes tea. "Let's have a cup of tea and then we can go have a nap."

"That sounds wonderful. I've been watching you since our guests came and I realized that I don't really know you anymore. It made me very sad, but I did gain some insight with your story about Lady Foxley and how she felt when she found out she couldn't have children. I wish you'd told me earlier." Charles says as Diana pours him a cup of tea.

"I couldn't have told you. You seemed so unaffected. I didn't want to bring you down with my misery." Diana says as she pours herself a cup of tea.

"I'm your husband. I'm supposed to help you through moments like that, but you never said a word. You just went on your merry way and left me to think that you didn't care that you'd lost our child. I may not have shown it, Diana, but I was crushed when the doctor told me you'd lost the baby and that you wouldn't be able to have more children. All I could hope was that you were okay. I was heartbroken when you seemed not to care. I thought we could have gotten through that together." Charles says as he places his hand over Diana's.

"Maybe we don't know each other as well as we should, but that doesn't mean we can't start now. Is there anything you'd like to talk about in regards to the baby? We can talk about it now. I don't mind. I got emotional talking to the kids about it, but you and I should talk about it. Can we get to know each other again?" Diana asks as she moves her chair closer to Charles'.

"Of course we can talk and we will certainly get to know each other again. I knew you once, but we lost touch after the baby. I should have clung to our relationship harder. I shouldn't have let you go and pull back from me. I just thought it was inevitable. The same thing had happened to my parents and so I thought it was natural. I was wrong. Forgive me?" Charles asks quietly.

"Of course I forgive you. I didn't exactly fight for you, either, now did I? We can both accuse the other of being foolish for not seeing what the other was going through, but in truth we've just been blind. Let's never go back to the way things were."Diana says as she sets her teacup down.


	2. I Need a Nap

"I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. How about that nap?"

"Sounds marvellous to me. I haven't been so tired since we were on honeymoon and you know how long ago that was." Charles says as he puts the two teacups in the sink and fills them with water. "Come on, you. I could use a good long sleep."

Diana and Charles walk up the stairs hand in hand. Even that touch feels foreign and she hates that it does. Diana sits down on the edge of the bed, on her side of the bed, and slips her shoes off. "Are you going to put your pyjamas on?" she asks as she looks over her shoulder at Charles.

"I'm debating. I think I might just because this outfit is so uncomfortable." Charles says as he slips his jacket off. "Besides, I want to put this butler's uniform away forever."

"I agree with you there. If I never see this maid's uniform again it will be too soon." Diana slips her apron off. She gasps as she sees Charles unbutton his shirt. Normally, they never change in front of each other. It's been so long since she's seen him in this pure state, so unabashed in front of her. He hasn't really done that since they were on honeymoon. There're a lot of things they haven't done since they were on honeymoon. It's difficult to remember and yet it's wonderful to have these moments back. It's almost as if after the honeymoon their shyness came back even though they were never shy on honeymoon. She doesn't want to be shy anymore.

"Is something wrong?" Charles asks as he hears his wife gasp.

"No, darling. I'm fine." Diana says as she slips her stockings off and takes a deep breath. Just a small glimpse of her husband's bare chest got her pulse racing and caused her to have trouble breathing. Even after so long she still thinks he's handsome.

Charles smirks. He knows it's been a long time since either of them have been this comfortable, but this is the way he wishes it has always been. He loves that he's just gotten a glimpse of her gorgeous legs, too. Charles catches Diana around her waist as she walks past him to the closet to retrieve her nightgown. "You don't have to lie to me. I know what a glimpse of my bare chest can do to you because your bare legs do the same thing for me. Stop trying to hide it!"

"Oh, Charles, it's just been so long since we've been so free with each other." Diana says as she continues to the closet.

"I know, darling, and mostly that's my fault. You're gorgeous." Charles says as he watches Diana slip her nightgown over her head in the sliver of light entering the closet.

"And you're still very handsome. That was what I gasped about earlier. I haven't seen your bare chest for so long. I wasn't expecting you to do that, that's all. I'm glad you did though. It's returned the romance to the house at least. I love you so." Diana says as she comes out of the closet.

"You didn't change in front of me. Why didn't you?" Charles asks as he finishes buttoning his pyjama top.

"You haven't seen me that way for so long, I didn't want to disappoint you if I didn't look the way you think I should." Diana says dropping her gaze from her husband's eyes.

"Come here my darling." Charles requests holding his arms out for his wife. He wants to reassure her. He pulls her down onto his lap gently and allows her to lean her head on his chest. "Diana, my love, it doesn't matter to me what you look like. I just want you to feel comfortable around me again. It worries me that you're not."

Diana tilts her head up towards her husband and kisses his lips. Charles leans back on the bed and pulls Diana back with him. Diana kisses him gently as she looks down into his eyes. She sees the young man she fell in love with and a tear rolls down her face. For once it's a tear of happiness for what they've regained rather than a tear of sadness for something lost.

"Darling, don't be sad. We can change things now that we know what the problem is. There's no need for tears. You make me sad when you cry." Charles says as he snuggles into bed with Diana next to him.

"I'm not sad. I'm remembering us as we once were: bold and full of hope for the future without a care in the world about where things were going for us. We just lived as the kids that stayed with us do. It's sad to see that time gone. I'm remembering you when you were young: how handsome and assured of everything you were. I kind of miss him, though the you I have now is wonderful too." Diana says as she unbuttons Charles' pyjama top and places her hands on his chest.

"I miss the you that you were before the baby, when we would talk and talk for hours. I miss the swagger you used to have in your step. I miss the confidence you used to have, except that seems to be coming back. I miss lying awake nights watching you sleep because you're so beautiful and I know you didn't know I did that, but I did. I just hope we can change things." Charles says as he strokes Diana's cheek.

"We can still talk for hours, but the me that I was is long gone. I still carry her memories, her feistiness, and her love for you though. I knew you watched me sleep. I could feel your eyes on me. Those things will never go away. I'm just not the same anymore." Diana says as she settles into the sheets and prepares for a nice, long nap. She wants to be intimate with him, but it's been so long that's she's scared.

Charles settles next to her and while he's not overt about it, he watches Diana until she falls asleep, comfortable in his arms again. He falls asleep looking at the back of her head feeling absolutely content and happy with life again.


End file.
